Investigator Viviana Fein has again changed her assessment of how Alberto Nisman died. Photo: Screenshot

Viviana Fein, the top Argentine official investigating the death in mysterious circumstance of Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, has radically revised her assessment of how he died, claiming that the deadly bullet entered not through his temple, as originally stated, but two centimeters – around three-quarters of an inch – behind his ear.

If Fein’s latest conclusion is borne out by the facts, it will further weaker the assertion that Nisman’s death was a suicide, since the the bullet’s point of entry strongly suggests that the trigger was pulled by someone else.

Fein’s comments on Argentine radio were reported on Twitter by Gabriel Bracesco, a crime reporter for the Clarín newspaper, who quoted her as saying: “The bullet that killed Nisman didn’t enter through the temple, but two centimeters behind his ear.”

In a follow-up tweet, Bracesco noted that the latest revelation would further undermine the theory that Nisman – who had spent more than a decade investigating the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in which 85 people were murdered, and who, on the eve of his death, accused the Argentine government of actively colluding with Iranian claims of innocence – committed suicide.

However, Bracesco added, Fein still subscribed to the suicide theory. Three days ago, Fein said that tests carried out on the pistol found at the scene discovered traces of only Nisman’s DNA.

Another leading Argentine journalist, Gaby Levinas, poked fun at Fein’s belief that the death was a suicide, commenting sarcastically that “Nisman must have been a contortionist.”

Since Nisman’s death on January 18, the Argentine authorities have done little to allay widespread concerns about their competence and honesty in carrying out an investigation, frequently changing their story of what transpired on that fateful night. The confusion has been further compounded by the statements of Argentine President Cristina “‹Fernández de Kirchner, who initially insisted that Nisman had died by his own hand and now says that he was murdered.